Oversight
by Halestrom
Summary: Temari wished Shikamaru was there with her, not that she'd ever admit aloud, it was hard to come to the conclusion herself. Perhaps misfortune will bring her what she desired most. ShikaTema.


_-Oversight-_

They had been hard at work for quite some time now, its been well over seven hours since her last break. Her hands were deadly instruments that could wield monstrous weapons with agile grace, but a bit of writing and they became worthless sores. She often relied on her trusty lazy companion to complain about working so that she could frequently take breaks. However this was far from the case today because today she was stuck with some overachiever with a social disorder. She had tried to engage in polite conversation only to receive a horrified gawking stare and silence. Her stomach had growled uncontrollably and the boy had flinched every time it sounded off but never responded to her stomach's distress. Temari wished Shikamaru was here, not that she'd ever admit aloud, hell it was hard to come to the conclusion herself. Nevertheless, she longed for the lazy genius instead of this petrified four-eyed paper pusher.

It's not like their paperwork was of any importance anyways nor was it all that difficult. Suna and Konoha decided that they were going to re-record all missions engaged by both parties and that required documents previously recorded. So she traveled three days, lugging nearly forty years worth of useless and invaluable scripts; only to work fourteen-plus hour days, eat from the hallway vending machine and enjoy the company of her rambling thoughts.

The day was at its end and the shinobi she was partnered with fell asleep at his desk. Instead of waking him like a normal person, Temari took this as her cue to get out of dodge. She slinked past his desk and through the maze of hallways to her freedom. The market district was closed down for the night and with it most of the restaurants; Temari's stomach growled in protest. The night was chilly and gave her the urge to hug herself for warmth, but her cheeks felt increasingly warmer.

"Temari? Temari, dear!" She her a deep woman's voice call out to her.

The Suna nin turned to see a sight for sore eyes. The brunette woman walked up to her, her large brown eyes gleaming in delight. "Yoshino, it has been too long."

"Yes it has my dear." The Nara woman pulled the blonde into a warm embrace, one which Temari eagerly returned. "What are you doing out here so late? Where is your guide?"

"I just got done with some paperwork and I gave my guide the slip; he's been working me to the bone." Temari chuckled when Yoshino smiled and shook her head. "I was hoping to find a bite to eat, but its seems I am too late. What are you doing out here so late?"

"I was visiting a friend and I lost track of time." Yoshino admitted, "Come home with me dear, I am sure the boys left some leftovers from dinner."

Yoshino said 'the boys', meaning Shikamaru was in town and not away on a mission. Perhaps he was ill or perhaps he is just tired of dealing with her. The blonde felt something stir inside her and was not pleased with the foreign feeling.

"Are you alright dear?" The brunette rested her hand on the other woman's shoulder. "You're a bit flushed."

"I am fine." Temari recovered with a reassuring smile, "I am just tired is all. Fifteen hour work days all on vending machine garbage will do that to a person. Let me walk you home."

"Are you sure? You can stay with us for the night?" Yoshino offered, her worry and skepticism still ever-present on her features. "It won't be a burden I promise."

"Thank you for worrying but I am fine." Temari began to walk in the direction of the Nara compound, forcing the older woman to follow suit.

They had a strange relationship, Yoshino and Temari. When they first met it was like love at first sight, instead with them it was friendship or even kinship. They enjoyed many of the same hobbies such as botany and cooking. They fancied their time together carrying on intelligent and meaningless conversations and both were genuinely intrigued by it. Yoshino had very much adopted Temari as her daughter and friend.

They walked in peaceful silence until Temari remembered something, "I tried that recipe that you gave me and it turned out fantastic. My brothers were in heaven."

"If you come by more often I can give you some more." Yoshino smiled with delight, "It does me wonders to know that the Kazekage enjoyed my recipe; kami only knows how my ungrateful son likes to complain about it."

"He loves your cooking. The idiot just doesn't know how to show he cares without whining." The blonde said absent mindedly. Now that she thought of it, she was quite similar in that regard. She showed Kankuro how much she loves him by beating him and sarcastic banter; but on the other end of the spectrum she respects and guides Gaara to express that love. It was complicated enough. How did she show Shikamaru her admiration?

"Eh, I guess we all can't show our affection by normal means." The older woman eyed the younger with a knowing look, "That would be too trouble-"

"Don't say it."

The two erupted into soft laughter at the expense of the shadow nin and his catchphrase. Temari found it irrefutably annoying.

"Well we're here Yoshino." Temari held the gate open for the Nara woman, "Hopefully I will see you sometime during the rest of my stay."

"One of these nights just stop by for dinner." Yoshino offered, "You're not looking too well, I think a decent meal will do you good."

"Sure thing." The blonde smiled as she watched the woman walk down the narrow path leading to a simple home.

From there Temari took to the uphill road, finding her way back to the embassy. Shikamaru and her had walked this path so many times before. He had been a constant thought topic for her recently. They had a strictly platonic friendship and neither had wavered on their end; well not that they expressed at least. Temari would think about him more than just as a friend, perhaps that is the reason he chose not to be her guide.

The blonde looked up and gasped aloud, she had nearly walked into a pole. "What is wrong with me?"

She slumped against the railing for the sidewalk, taking a moment to gaze out upon the homes and forest. Despite the frigid air, Temari could feel the sweat bearing down on her forehead, "Maybe I am getting sick... great."

The Suna nin pushed herself from the railing and continued home. A nice shower and her bed were calling out to her.

...

Yoshino entered her home, welcomed by the warmth and residual smell of her homemade stew. She slipped off her flats at the door and poked her head into the living room and sure enough her lazy son was sprawled out on the couch with a book in hand.

"Shikamaru, are there any leftovers from dinner?" She stood out of sight of her son, with a wicked grin on her face.

"No."

"That's unfortunate." Yoshino sighed dramatically, "Temari bothered to walk me all the way home and I hoped to bring her stew as a reward. Plus I think she is coming down with something."

She listened to Shikamaru sit up on the couch, "Oh yeah? She's so scary I'm sure she'll scare it off."

"No, I don't think so. She looked really bad." His mother prodded again, "She said that her new guide is strict and uncaring. So for the past three days she's only eaten out of the vending machine and she is working almost fifteen hours each day. Poor dear, I don't think I've ever seen her so _vulnerable_."

Shikamaru shuffled from the living room and slipped on his shoes, heading out the door.

"Where are you going Shikamaru?" Yoshino feigned innocence.

The ebony haired man huffed, "To get fresh air. I can only handle so much of you, you know."

Shikamaru left the compound as nonchalantly as he could muster, quickening his pace when his home was out of sight. He ran up the hill, trying to catch up with Temari.

Temari, vulnerable? Shikamaru didn't think it was possible. Well of course it was possible but never in his wildest dreams did he imagine Temari in a weakened state. Temari and vulnerable should never exist in the same sentence, let alone the same universe. The scenarios where he could conjure her like that sent his body into panic mode. "Maybe Mom was exaggerating?"

That is when he saw her almost walk into a pole and then watch her practically throw herself at the side railing for support. Her faced turning red with fever and her breathing was labored. He followed her further down the road, watching her sway back and forth on her pursuit to the embassy; she would check to see if anyone was around before she would rest on a wall for extra strength. The sight did awful things to Shikamaru's psyche; she should never look so frail.

Temari finally made it the the large pearly building and disappeared from his sight. The shadow nin's blood was boiling, "Guess it's time to meet my replacement."

...

She watched the sunlight slowly filtered the room, the soft rays warmed her already scalding flesh. Temari had been awake for an hour or so but unable to gain the strength to stand on her own. Every time she moved was as if her body rejected the action by sending waves of nausea through her.

"Come on big girl," She scolded herself, "up and at 'um."

She found her figure moving on its own accord but at soon as she got to her feet the bile shot to her throat. Temari ran to the bathroom and heaved up what little food she had in her. She flushed the toilet and washed her face in the sink. Her reflection in the mirror was horrendous, she was sickening pale and was sweating bullets. How she managed to get ready was beyond her recollection, time came to her in fragments. First she was in front of the mirror, then fully dressed walking to the Hokage tower and then she was in the office writing.

She looked down at was she was writing and the words spun on the page. She stood up from her chair and everything else began to spun.

...

"I already have Satchi as her guide Shikamaru." Tsunade tried to match Shikamaru's brisk walk down the hallway, "I'm sure the situation isn't as bad as it seems. Satchi is the worst of brown nosers, I'm sure he is sucking up to Temari as we speak."

"I'm sure you're right, but my mother was concerned and asked me to check." The lie came naturally from the Nara. He was worried about Temari and furious with the so-called brown noser.

"Well this is their office-"

Shikamaru quickly opened the door to reveal a single man working at his desk; the man swung around sharply in fear of the suddenness of the intrusion.

"Tsunade-sama!" The young man hopped from his seat, holding a stack of papers. "Look! I've done all of these in the past four hours!"

"That's nice," The busty blonde waved off the eager to please shinobi, "where is Temari?"

Satchi looked at her desk, realizing it was empty. "Temari-san is always hungry, her stomach growls all the time. Maybe she has gone to the vending machine for a snack? However, I think she did say that she wasn't feeling too well."

Shikamaru looked back at her desk to analyse it, going closer to further inspect. Her chair had slid halfway across the room which meant that she either got up suddenly or pushed it there in anger. There was a large blot of ink on the desk and her handwriting wasn't fluid and too large; she was either dazed or drunk. Shikamaru decided on the former. The window next to her desk was wide open, she often did this because she enjoy the Konoha breeze but damned it when it sent paperwork flying; she hardly ever opened a window right next to her paperwork anymore. Temari always left her shoes off while working, it was one of her strange habits, so if they were there she must still be on this floor sneaking about.

The Nara leaned over the desk and that's when he saw it, "Temari!"

She laid crumpled on the floor, drenched in sweat and struggling to breathe. Shikamaru lifted her up in his arms, leapt from the open window and ran to the infirmary. The nurses had him carry her to the room and place her on the bed, he watched as they scrambled to assemble the right instruments and protective wear. Tsuande came in pushing him out the door, her face was stern but he swore she mumbled 'I'm sorry'.

He sat outside her room for about twenty minutes, hoping that someone would inform him on her status. Shikamaru fidgeted with his fingers just as he had all those years ago except Temari wasn't sitting across from him attempting in her own misguided way to comfort him. That was the moment that something changed between them, going from enemies to something. They had shortly become friends and comrades thereafter. She always pushed him to exceed his comfort zone; which she referred to his 'lazy zone'. In return he tried to get her to relax and enjoy the simple moments. It took exactly twenty-four encounters for him to realize he had strong feelings for the kunoichi, more than just friendship.

"I just found out that the danishes in the vending machine were expired." The young guy from the office walked up to Shikamaru, "Tsunade-sama is really mad at me for it."

Shikamaru shot up to his feet, lifting Satchi from the floor by his throat. "It's not her that you should be worried about being mad. Would you have even realized that she was passed out? Would you say anything to anyone about her disappearing?"

"Shikamaru that's enough." Tsunade barked, "Put him down! Temari is fine."

The shadow nin dropped the other man on the floor, hovering over him before he entered the hospital room. Temari was on the bed breathing regularly now although she was still bright red in the cheeks. She had an iv in her arm most likely due to dehydration.

"Eating bad food, dehydrated and sleep deprivation. Temari just got unlucky in a couple different ways and together made her more sick than usual." Tsunade offered to Shikamaru. "She'll wake up soon, don't give her too much grief."

He nodded his head and sat by her side. Tsunade and the nurses left the room, leaving him alone with her. He didn't know what to do, he wanted to apologize but speaking to someone who is unconscious seemed a bit nonsensical.

"Are they all gone?" Shikamaru looked down at Temari in shock, she peeked around the room with half-lidded eyes. "So embarrassing, I can't believe I fainted."

"Its your own fault." He went serious, not allowing her to know how worried he was. "You should take better care of yourself."

She sat up with full force and glared at him. Her face fell at the sight of him and she brought her hand to his cheek. "Shikamaru what happened? It looks like you just got the stitches out and it's going to leave a large scar."

Her concern melted his insides and he beat himself up for his weakness for her. "My plan didn't go accordingly. Luckily it was only a superficial laceration and it didn't damage my eye.

"It makes you look more masculine and it reminds me of your father." Temari didn't move her hand from his cheek. His new scar traveled from his left eyebrow to his cheekbone. "Is this why you weren't my guide?"

Shikamaru nodded, unable to keep eye contact with her any longer. "About that... I'm sorry. It's because of me that you're-"

"Shikamaru," She cut him off, her stomach growled painfully. "I'm really hungry."

"I guess I have no choice then. Come on, we'll have to sneak out." Shikamaru took the iv out of her arm and handed back her clothes.

Temari spun her finger around, "No looking pervert."

Shikamaru turned away with a smile. Temari kept her eyes on him, not in fear he would look, in fear that he would disappear.

_I'm glad we're back together._

...

**Thanks to all that read my one-shot. If you did catch that at the beginning Shikaku is still alive in this story. I hope you enjoyed. R&R, it helps the writing juices. **

**For those who read 'Overdue', my other ShikaTema story, I know its been on hiatus but I am writing for it as you read. I just don't want to post a chapter and lose my muse again; so stay tuned.**

**-Halestrom**


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